‘Runes of Magic’ gets renowned artist

The popular free-to-play MMORPG “Runes of Magic” is having quite the month. First, they hit the 1 million player milestone. (Albeit not as fast as “Free Realms.”) Now, Frogster has revealed that they’re teaming up with renowned fantasy artist, Eva Widermann.

Known primarily for her work with Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons & Dragons, Eva’s fantasy art is definitely not the norm for most “Runes of Magic” players. One of the main complaints I’ve heard about the MMORPG is that, while it plays similar to “World of Warcraft,” it looks way too similar. Eva’s artstyle should definitely go a long way toward changing that, should her influence be more than a few select mobs here and there, and should Frogster let her have a longer leash and dictate her own vision, rather than conform to theirs.

Just how does her style differ from what’s already present in the MMORPG? Here’s an example of the character design in “Runes of Magic.” And here, here, and here are examples of some of Eva’s character designs.